Day 6 of the War, Jan 1, 2009

Day 6 of the Gaza war, Thursday January 1, 2009 -- Daily sticky post, constantly updated.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO DAY 7 OF THE GAZA WAR


More liveblogging at IsraellyCool and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/muqata Keyword #GazaWar

Additional New posts from today can be found below this post.

As a general rule we will try and keep operational details to a minimum, that includes troop movements and the exact location of rocket hits. If items are reported in the Main Stream Israeli Media we will report them as well.

Other war related news: Bank Hapoalim and Bank Discount cut off ties with Gaza banks and refuse to transfer any more shekels to Gaza. The government has asked the Postal Bank to step in and transfer the shekels. The Postal Bank has no choice but to transfer the money, but has asked that the government cover any civil lawsuits it may face related to transferring money to a terrorist organization.

Nadia Matar's trial for "insulting a public official" is on hold. In her incendiary letter written 3 years ago against certain government officials involved in the Disengagement from Gaza, Matar warned of the bloodshed Israel will face due to the Disengagement. Ironically, the trial was put on hold after the lead prosecutor was called up for emergency reserve duty in the Gaza war.

10:37 PM Rocket launched at Be'er Sheva. Falls in open area.

9:28 PM Gaza City shelled as the IDF hunts down an Islamic Jihad cell.

9:10 PM Arutz 1 is reporting that there are at least 60 serious warnings for terror attacks in Israel.

9:01 PM Earlier today the house of Hamas brigade leader Nabil abu al-Amrin was hit in Gaza city. The house was used as storage for large amounts of arms and amunition, with many secondary explosions being heard.

8:50 PM And we're back...Sirens by Ofakim and rocket launched in that direction. Update: Grad/Katyusha rocket lands in open field near Netivot.

6:03 PM We'll be taking a break for a while. Here's hoping the evening will be quiet.

6:01 PM 3 rockets fall in Ashdod, no report of injuries. 3 Kassams in Negev.

5:38 PM Rockets in the direction of Ashkelon.

5:05 PM Just to give people an idea of how the Israeli Air Force works, they use a method called "Knocking On The Roof". There are several steps...
1. The AF calls the house they're about to hit that they are about to bomb it.
2. The residents send all the women and children to the roof of the building with the understanding that the AF won't strike civilians.
3. The AF has developed a small missile that creates a small non-lethal explosion without shrapnel to scare off all the civilians.
4. When they have left the area the building is hit with the big guns.

5:01 PM IDF called Nazir Rayan to tell him that they were about to bomb the site. He decided to stay in the house with his family and people. 10-16 killed in the attack.

5:00 PM Map of Rocket Range - 60Km.
The following list is far from exhaustive and contains a list of cities...and well known places
that are now within the 60 kilometer range of Gazan rockets.


Alon Shvut
Ashdod
Ashkelon
Bat Yam
Beer Sheva
Beit Shemesh
Ben Gurion Airport
Elazar
Holon
Lod
Modi'in
Nof Ayalon
Ramat Beit Shemesh
Ramla
Rechovot
Rishon LTzion
Sederot
Tel Aviv
Yad Binyamin
Yavneh


4:52 PM 35 Rockets today so far. Major property damage. No injuries.

4:38 PM More sirens in Be'er Sheva.

4:26 PM Rockets land near Sderot, Eshkol, Netivot, Ashkelon. No injuries.

4:25 PM Rocket lands in Be'er Sheva area. No report of injuries.

4:22 PM Sirens going off in Be'er Sheva. IAF striking Gaza at this moment.

3:31 PM Rockets land in open area near Netivot.

3:30 PM Rockets in Ashkelon and Ashdod. 2 rockets land in the Ashkelon area.

3:18 PM IAF has killed Nizar Rian, a high ranking Hamas official as well as others. (Jpost)

2:55PM Reports of alarms in Ashdod.

2:17 PM Sirens in Sderot.

2:16PM A different sort of liveblogging. Help brighten someones day.

2:12 PM Palestinian Taxi attempts to run down Jewish teenagers outside of the West Bank (Shomron) village of Qarnei Shomron. No injuries -- as the 2 teens escaped harm. IDF and Israeli police searching for the vehicle.

2:04 PM IDF Homefront Command starts to distribute emergency directions for Rocket Attacks...in Tel Aviv. (source, see below for scanned copy)

With Hamas Rocket ranges now reaching 60 kilometers (as reported here at the Muqata, from Israel Radio), the IDF Homefront command has started preparing for the eventuality that Hamas rockets will reach the Tel Aviv area. Also included is the Beit Shemesh area, Modi'in, Ramla, Lod, Bnei Brak, Rechovot, Holon, Givaatayim, Petach Tikva...

Updated map coming soon.



1:36 PM Another school in Ashkelon hit by rocket.

1:34 PM Terror cell responsible for firing Grad/Katyusha rocket that hit building in Ashdod liquidated.

1:16 PM Sirens sound and rocket falls in Ashkelon. No report of injuries.

1:13 PM IAF video of air strike on mosque that was being used to store rockets.




1:12 PM Steps are being taken due to worries that building hit in Ashdod might collapse.

1:05 PM Hamas takes responsibility for rocket in Ashdod. Mosque where terrorists where hiding out hit by IAF fire.

1:04 PM Pictures from rocket site in Ashdod.

1:01 PM Sirens in Ashkelon and Ashdod at this moment.

12:53 PM Despite "relief" agencies clamoring to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, Officials for the UN's World Food Program contacted the IDF on Wednesday and said that it would not need to transfer more food into Gaza, since its stockpiles were full and would last for another two weeks. (source, JPost, Hat-tip, MC))

12:41 PM Earlier, rocket hits factory in the Chof Eshkol area. No injuires, several workers treated for shock.

12:40 AM Reshet Bet reporting that Hamas fired a rocket with 60Km. range.

12:38 PM Sirens in Ashkelon and the Eshkol region.

12:31 PM Building struck in Ashdod being evacuated.

12:26 PM In Ashdod, MDA treating people for shock.

12:25 PM Rocket also lands in Be'er Sheva. No injuries.

12:16 PM Direct strike on building in Ashdod. Emergency crews going from floor to floor checking for wounded. No wounded found (as of posting)

12:13 PM Initial reports of wounded in Ashdod. Additional "Color Red" warnings in Western Negev.

12:10 PM Air Raid Sirens in Western Negev Communities. Rocket strikes identified -- teams on their way.

12:09 PM 2 Rockets fall in Ashdod area. More rockets on their way...emergency units standing by.

12:04 PM Air Sirens in Ashdod. NOT A DRILL.

12:03 PM The south-wide drill of the Emergency Alert System was supposed to have sounded sirens everywhere from Gedera to BeerSheva. Unfortunately, there were no sirens in Beer Sheva...IDF looking into the problem.

12:00 PM Two rockets fall near Be'er Sheva. A total of 8 rockets have been fired so far today.

11:48 AM Sirens going off in Ofakim.

11:28 AM Palestinian sources claim that a caravan of vehicles has been struck by Air Force fire.

11:03 AM Israel Radio Channel B (Reshet B) surreptitiously stated that one of the Grad/Katyusha rockets shot at Israel yesterday landed 50 kilometers from Israel. I will be providing an updated map later with the newly included communities.

10:57 AM Israeli Arabs in Yafo (Jaffa) throw rocks and curses at IDF Radio soldiers. The IDF radio station is located in Yafo, and since the start of the war, Israeli Arabs have been throwing rocks at the Station, and cursing the IDF soldiers and employees who work there. The IDF has beefed up security by surrounding the station with armed soldiers from the IDF Nachal Brigade (source, NRG in Hebrew)

9:39 AM Israel working the hi-tech end of things.

9:34 AM No signs of a truce on the horizon. Israel reject French call for "humanitarian" cease fire. (source CNN)

9:30 AM According to Arab sources 400 terrorists killed in Gaza so far.

9:26 AM Reports of anarchy and looting in the streets of Gaza.

9:00 AM 2 Kassams launched. Building Damaged.

7:30 AM Sirens sounded in Be'er Sheva. (3 Grad missiles launched.)

4:50 AM Naval units shelling targets in Gaza.

4:30 AM Once more, a quiet night in Israel, not so much in Gaza. A large number of Government/Hamas buildings hit in the Strip. The Legislative Counsel, Ministry of Justice and other buildings bombed.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד